The Atlantic, which is the magazine that got mixed up in the flap between Meghan's dad and renegade photographer Jill Greenberg, reports on McCain's centrist conservative tendencies -- she calls herself a "progressive Republican."

But soft-pedaling doesn't fly so well in today's polarized environment -- right-wing pundit Laura Ingraham says Meghan, 24, is nothing more than a "useful idiot" to liberals who want to divide and conquer their enemies.

Ingraham may have a point. It's hard to tell which party Meghan McCain is helping more.

Ray Stern has worked as a newspaper reporter in Arizona for more than two decades. He's won many awards for his reporting, including the Arizona Press Club's Don Bolles Award for Investigative Journalism.